Rebels With Wing
by goddammitijustwantausername
Summary: Maximum ride grew up in a laboratory, and after all of her fellow mutants were killed off,they tried to kill her off too but she woke up in a dumpster. She starts anew with her adoptive family adjusts to life,but things get complicated when Max meets an older version of her mutant buddy 'Fang' and her captors from her childhood discover she's still alive.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I hope you enjoy

Chapter One.

I had friends. When I was younger that is. We didn't bond over the normal things, no, there was none of the over controlling parents who pushed you to walk over to the other shy seven year olds lurking by the playground the first day school. That would be too easy. The five of us bonded through metal cages, all of us searching for comfort, for love.

We were experiments, nothing other than mutants there for relentless torture for 'science'. We were pulled apart every morning to be prepared for another day of hell. We persevered. We may have felt unloved, and unwanted on our own, but together we were one and we were unbeatable, we rebelled. We made sure of captors knew that one day it would be us beating them.

That's when we became four.

Slightly deterred, we lessened the rebellion. Hell we were scared as fuck. Nine year olds, fighting for freedom. It was a nice thought, but even in that hell hole we managed to keep some sort of innocence. Because we never thought they would kill us off. We knew we were expandable, but we had created an atmosphere with the general thought that good prevails without damage.

Two years later, we picked back up where we left off. Back to the rebellious ways of our past. We managed seven months. _Seven months._ Of no food for dinner. No sleep at night. No comfort from our fellow rebels. All punishments. But the thing is, they were breaking. We were winning, we had become too strong. After all these years of genetic alterations that made us stronger, faster, had bit them in the behind. Because while they controlled our physical restraints, they had no control of our mental power.

I guess that's why they created the erasers. Wolf-men. Perfect for hunting birds. And with their move in place, We became three.

Then two.

Then one.

Then none at all.

Because the fire of freedom that once rang in the last members heart had been drowned by the tears shed for her fallen.

And with my newfound obedience, they locked me away. Ignored me, they found their new pets, ones that listened.

And when they came for the last time one year later, syringe full of poison in hand, I didn't move. They took me easily. I didn't care. I craved death. I craved peace. No more screams echoing the halls at all hours of the day. No more monsters. No more anything.

You can imagine my disappointment when I woke up, discarded in a dumpster. Disappointment was a fleeting emotion. I had a new chance to live! And I grasped it with both hands.

_One year later _

Life wasn't as great as I wanted it to be. I was lost in the middle of nowhere for ages, only managing to find some sort of civilization. It was, large, noisy, and crowded, and I couldn't find food.

I soon found out that in this bustling city, no one would hand me food. I actually had to forge for it.

That's how I found myself eyeing a balding man from a window sill, late in the evening. He exuded confidence, he was dressed similarly. I bounced from foot to foot, waiting for the right moment. He yelled angrily, at nothing I presumed, but it seemed normal for people dressed like that to chatter away with no one there. He stopped below me, we were at the corner of a building, and in his still state, I leaned forward, falling. Two stories before hitting him with my entire building, my wings snapped out in full glory. With my speed cut in half, I had plenty of time to aim, and then kick him squarely in the face, sending him sprawling. With him sprawling on the floor, I grabbed the bag of food he had been holding and started to take off again. But I wasn't alone, someone had seen me. He ran at me.

"Hey! Stop!" He wasn't deterred by the man moaning on the floor in front of me, he simpley jumped over him. I wanted to turn and run, but if he saw my wings things would get bad fast. I opted for pushing myself into a corner, shrouding my wings.

He loomed over me, before taking out a communicating device- similar to the things the scientists used.

"911? Yes, I have a man bleeding profusely from the head, and the girl who did it captured."

The man spoke quickly, and calmly. He nodded at woman at the other end, and continued to glare at me.

I felt my legs shake on the pavement. The flashbacks were rapid. Fang, Iggy, Angel, Gazzy. Year after year. Dead one after another. Tests over and over again. I was overtaken by images. A burning was crawling up my throat, my vision blurred by the swirling images and tears. I couldn't breathe. I was drowning in pool of memories and fear. Panic overwhelmed me. I cried out, expecting the dull silence that had been my life to respond. I found a calming voice instead.

"Everything is fine, you will not be charged, just breathe. Can you do that for me? Forget the fears, and breathe." She came in wobbly focus. Kind features greeted me.

"You better hon? Its fine we don't have to move. Just relax." She smiled.

Behind her I saw the man I attacked being lifted into a large- and loud- car, that was racing off.

"I'm Valencia." She offered, "Who are you?"

She wasn't condescending, or demanding. Just gentle.

"Max." I whispered, ignoring the onslaught of memories. The five of us in our respective cages. All meeting for the first time. All deciding we were a team. And that team needed a name. "Ride."

"Maximum Ride." I told her.

"Nice, to meet you Maximum. Have you calmed down?" She asked.

"I'm fine." I snapped, wishing she would just let me leave. The consequences of staying with here now in full focus.

"Good, how about we take a little ride?" She gestured behind her, where a black and white car-also known to be noisy- sat.

"No!" I glared.

"It's all okay Maximum. But I really need for you to come with me." She prodded some more.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I asked.

Valencia opened her mouth to respond, but a large man with a furry mustache cut her off,

"No, you don't. Get in the damn car." He glared tiredly.

"I apologize about him, but it would be helpful if you came with us." She stated.

"Jacket. I need a jacket and I'll come." I demanded.

The annoyed man was about to snap a reply but was shut up with a glare from Valencia, right before she took off a fancy black jacket.

"Here you go, Hon." She smiled.

I took it,and carefully slid it over my wings, cautious of the pool of light my wings could get caught in it.

Once the jacket was on the woman led me towards the back of the car. With a fleeting glance at the night sky where I belonged, I ducked into the car, followed by Valencia.

Its been nearly two hours. Once we arrived at one of the many skyscrapers that made up the city, I was ushered into a room, alone, and Valencia left. No one returned in her place.

I was falling asleep when the door burst open in, and a women with eyes like the erasers, stepped in, devouring the scene before her.

"Maximum Ride, I am Sophia Collet. The man you attacked did not press charges, so you are free to go, but then on further researching, it seems you don't have one. So I'll be escorting you to your new orphanage where you may or may not be adopted in the next four years. Once you are eighteen, you are released back into the world and will not be allowed to return to said orphanage. We clear?" She paused momentarily, "Good. Follow me."

She stood abruptly and left the room. After a moments pause, I followed.

She led me to another black sleek car,this one bigger than the last.

"Good, in. Don't cause trouble." And with her finals words the door slammed shut, and the car moved.

I looked out the window, well tried. The tinted windows didn't let me see much except my own shattered reflection.

My short honey blonde hair a wreck from having no proper cleaning in forever, and the features of my face still obscured by all the grime. The only neat thing about me was the jacket I still had from Valencia.

The let me sleep once at the orphanage, ushered me straight to a room with four bunk beds and plopped me down on a bottom bunk in the corner. Tired and emotional, I fell asleep.

The following morning I was woken up by someone poking at my face,

"Do you think she died in her sleep?" I girls voice asked.

I sat up hurriedly and pushed the hand from my face violently. I pushed myself back until I hit a wall, and screamed.

There was a collective cringe among the seven girls around me before the lady from last night who led me to this room, burst in.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked nervously, before her eyes settled on me, "Oh, Maximum, you're up, good. You have a doctors appointment in a half hour. You better come with me." She smiled and motioned for me to follow her. I walked cautiously between the girls, and shuffled after the plump woman.

"Okay dearie, we'll leave now. Have you ever been examined by a doctor?" She asked while leading me to the car from the night before.

I thought about the years of scientist poking and prodding at me. And then the softer sort that called themselves doctors after a scientist took things too far. They had white coats too, but with little animals sewed onto them. I liked doctors.

"Yeah." I paused, "They said I'm healthy." I added quickly hoping she might not take me to the doctors. But the damage of my slow morning mind had been done and I had sealed my fate.

Oh fuck.

I hope you like it! I should be updating every Thursday!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The doctor's office was a child-friendly version of one of the testing rooms at the school, as in everything was white, but there were no sharp prods prodding at me,

The lady who I had following had taken the time to introduce herself in the waking room she was, "Olivia Birch, but you could call her Ollie, unless that made her uncomfortable then you could call her Olivia or Mrs. birch was fine." Quote, unquote.

After that, Ollie kept quiet, optic to fill out a large sheet of paper. Only at the very end did she turn to me and ask to fill the rest out.

Name: Maximum Ride

Gender: Female

Birthdate: 14

And that was basically all I knew. If I consider that I know my age not birthday counted as knowing my birthdate. The rest was mumbo jumbo in my mind, indistinguishable from each other.

So I handed the incomplete sheet back to Ollie. She looked it over, her brow arched in confusion before handing it back.

"You have to full complete it." She said softly.

I pushed it back into her hands, "I can't."

And hindering any further argument, a nurse called for me. I quickly followed her into a back room.

"Alright, Maximum, you need to strip down and put these on." She told me while handing me a flimsy see through paper vest and a skirt like thing in the same fashion.

"No." was my immediate answer.

"Just do it." She glared and turned on her heel before stomping through the doorway, shutting it with a peremptory slam. I glared at the door. Bitch.

This room was nicer than the ones at the school, one all was almost completely a mirror. I sat pushed up against the mirror on something reminiscent of a hospital bed, rhythmically kicking the underside.

I sat patiently for a couple minutes, the longer alone the more I had to force the panic down my throat. Even if I was in a school institute, the doctors were always nice.

Then the door swung open with ease allowing the doctor to come in looking down at her clipboard and rattled off that her name was Dr. Hayes before even looking up at me.

"Oh sorry, you haven't changed. I'll come back in a few minutes." She began to glide out the door.

"I'm not changing, examine me like this."

That stopped her in her in her tracks.

"Sweetheart you need to change, how could I properly examine you when you're all covered up?" Dr. Hayes rationalized calmly

"I'm fine!" I jumped forward yelling, not being able to control the panic rising in my chest.

"What if there's something one your back?" She asked.

"There's _nothing _on my back!" I yelled rather harshly again.

Her face softened into one of a concerned mother, "Honey, if there are scars from a past life, you don't have to hide them, we're here to love and provide for- not judge."

She started walking towards me again, and I cowered in the corner made by the end of the bed I was sitting on and the mirror.

She didn't stop coming, she began to lift her hand in a calming gesture like I was a rabid animal. And when franticly I took off from the corner and a loud rip sounded followed by a cold chill descending on my wings, I knew she knew that was all I was. A rabid animal.

I lifted my eyes slowly, trying to meet hers. I couldn't. Her eyes were trained on the reflection in the mirror. The reflection of brown tawny wings securely attached to my back.

She faltered in her movements and the gentle sparkle that had been in her eye was gone, pure fear was left. Her muscles had hardened and her mouth agape, we stood- neither moving. Just staring and accepting the philosophical beans that had just been spilled.

Time had passed and her mouth had closed, but fell open again as she tried to speak, though no words found her.

Once more she began to speak "Are…Are you a uh….Are you an angel?" She asked hesitantly.

We looked at each other for a second before the laughter bubbled up in my throat. Then soon I wasn't just giggling I was laughing, a full belly laugh where your eyes crinkled and you couldn't breathe. I had never laughed like that. Hell, I had never _laughed. _The feeling was exquisite! I was soon, quite literally, rolling on the floor laughing.

Unfortunately, the glee I felt was ephemeral as Dr. Hayes had clicked the door handle down and was about to make her escape.

"No!" I begged, all laughter fleeting, "Don't tell anyone, they'll send me back!"

The door to the handle slowly rose back into a locked position.

"Back where?" She asked, fear still lacing her voice.

"The laboratory. I'm an experiment. Please _don't send me back._"

And maybe it was the pleading sound of complete agony and resentment that was in my voice, or maybe it was the way I was kneeled on the floor begging for her to not say anything because all she did in response was say, "You're bleeding."

"What?" I asked confused.

"Your…wing. It's bleeding." She stated.

I moved my wing forward to see what she was talking about except a sharp pain rocked through my wings and I cried out.

Looking up, I saw Dr. Hayes putting on gloves and grabbing a bottle labeled 'Alcohol'.

"This will clean it." She stepped forward, and slowly reached out with a shaking hand. She almost touched my injured wing when my feathers ruffled causing her to skitter back and shake a little more before approaching again.

The rest of the appointment went in the same fashion, her hesitant and shaking but kind all the same, and me, awkwardly trying to explain things like air sacks, my metabolism, and why my wingtips were razor sharp. After a full two hours of checking me over, she seemed more at ease with me, no longer jumping if my wing twitched or if I moved to fast.

"Okay Max, you're free to go, but come back next week so I can check over your stitches."

I nodded at Dr. Hayes before being greeted by Ollie once I was in the waiting room again.

"Oh dearie, everything good with you? Nothing bad? All is well?" She asked rapidly.

"Yeah, I'm good" I said meekly.

"Lovely! You have an appointment with a therapist, Ms. Martinez, at two. We'll stop by the orphanage for lunch and to get yourself acquainted before heading over. It's all just procedure to see how you are up here." She said motioning to her head.

At lunch the food was bad and the people noisy. Not exactly my forte. Then, I was yelled at for eating six portions, not my fault I need nearly six thousand calories a day, or special vitamins the school provided to function properly. Of course this raised even more questions among the children. Well, not exactly children, they were mostly my age around fourteen with an awkward seventeen year old.

I escaped that hell scene only to jump into a new one.

"Can you tell me about your past?" Ms. Martinez asked.

Ms. Martinez was a kind woman in her late forties, and had a familiar face with long brown hair.

"No." I replied.

"Why is that?"

"I don't want too." I answered again.

"Did you have a family?" She asked.

Thinking of my fellow rebels I replied, "Yes."

"Were they loving?" She prodded.

"Yes." I said stone faced.

"How did you end up stealing on the streets?" She continued.

"I ran away." I glared.

"And how does that make you feel?" She asked completely serious.

"Free."

"Do you miss your home?"

"I don't have a home." I snapped.

"Where did you run away from?" She asked.

I looked her straight in the eyes and replied stonily, "Hell."

"And how does that make you feel?" She responded on the dot.

I glared.

**Session 2 with Ms. Martinez 3 days later. **

"Hello again Maximum." Ms. Martinez greeted me.

I sat in the chair across from her.

"How is your new home?" She asked as soon as I settled in.

"They don't give me enough food." I replied weakly, the toll of having barely one thousand calories a day for a week.

"How much do you need?"

"A lot." I peeked through my drooping eyes.

"How about the people? The other kids" She tried a different approach.

"Annoying, immature and shallow." I whispered out.

"Are you tired?"

"They don't give me enough food." I said stating the obvious.

"How do you feel about that?"

"Like I want more food."

**Session 3 one week later **

"Alright, Maximum. This is our last session, but only if you really talk. I need to know if you're okay and all I know is that you grew up in a bad place and like food." Ms. Martinez broke the silence.

I stayed quite. Ms. Martinez was growing on me, yeah she asked obvious questions but if I didn't answer she wouldn't ask again. Plus, she had a clam loving nature about her.

"Why don't we play question? You can ask me a question, and I promise I'll answer and then I'll ask you a question and you answer. Now, you don't have to answer but if you want the sessions to stop then you do. Okay?" She asked a bit desperate.

I nodded, I could always make things up. After living with other people in such close quarters has really improved how I handle situations where wings could be a problem.

"Okay, you first." She nodded her heads to me.

"Do you have a family?" I asked, I liked hearing about families.

She faltered, "I have a husband, David; one daughter, Ella; and one son, Nicholas, or Fang as he likes to be called." She sobered, "I had another. But he died many years ago."

We sat in silence.

"How about your family, can you tell me about them?"

I nodded slowly, trying to smother the pain my family is associated with.

"There was five of us. Me, Iggy, Gazzy, Brownie, and Angel." I paused, "Brownie was the oldest, Angel the youngest. He always gave her his food portions. Gazzy was Angels brother, he was a stubborn little one." I wiped the tears from my face, "I was the second oldest, and Iggy the third. Iggy was depressed, or at least we thought he was depressed. He rarely talked unless it was about something exploding, and he always curled up alone. I think it's because he came later than us, he remembered his family, and he was blind. That couldn't have helped. Angel, like her name suggests, was so hopeful, always trying to get Iggy to talk to us, he usually only talked to Brownie, but he would occasionally crack a smile for Angel. She had it the best out of all of us. I had it the worst, but that's my own fault."

I was blubbering now, not really able to stop the fountain of tears and words tumbling from me.

"Was? What happened to them?"

"…Brownie was first. It was my fault, I got the ideas into their heads." I curled my legs into me shaking from the memories.

"After Iggy committed suicide we tried again. It was working better this time, so they killed Angel, and then Gazzy, and just kind of left me for a year, they tried to kill me. I still remember it, the wrestled me to the ground easily and then the poison took affect and the nerves in my body just lit up, I could feel my stomach dissolving and brain tissue dying and then it was black. But I woke up fine."

"Who killed them?" she asked very concerned.

"It was the goddamn scientists!" I screamed, the rage building up, "They took us! From our fucking families! We could have been loved, could have had a goddamn childhood but it was just experiment after experiment and then they'd fix us up, and do it all over again! It was endless! And then they just killed us off, in front of us, as a point. 'Don't do anything disobedient, or this could happen to you.' They would tell us, and then feed them to wolves! Who fucking does that?!"

I collapsed on the floor shaking, first from rage and the pain, but then I had realized what I had said. And the familiar panic was swelling, conquering and overwhelming every sense.

I cried and screamed, and drowned in all the emotions and confusion. It was never going away my head was swelling with paralyzing emotion, raw and powerful.

"I just want love." I whimpered over and over again, seeking for peace, or some of the emotion that had overtaken me to fill the aching hole in my chest because as far as I could tell it was a deep emotionally void hole that would slowly suck me in until I'm nothing but a shell. And it was never going away.

In the background a calming voice broke the haze and slowly came more into focus as I became more aware of my crumpled state on the floor.

I wiped the tears and saw Ms. Martinez kneeling in front of me humming softly. In my hazy stupor I lurched forward and clung onto her. I could feel her arms shift around me and rock me back and forth, and I felt just a little part of that black hole swelling fill up, just a little bit.

I don't know how long we sat like that, but I didn't care I was feeling okay. Soon the tears shaking stopped, and then the tears and it was just Ms. Martinez humming in my ear and rubbing my back while holding my securely in her arms.

"Please, don't tell anyone, I don't want to go back." I whimpered.

"I wouldn't tell a soul." She said into my hair.

10% of me was tawny barn owl and the thing about owls is that their nocturnal therefore I'm nocturnal and I couldn't exactly explain my reasoning on why I had to sleep during the day therefore I didn't therefore I feel like shit.

Add that on top of barely evading and that equals a zombie like Maximum Ride. So when they woke me up at 3 an hour before my therapist appointment and the anxiety I've been feeling all week had reach the climax and I was a nervous wreck barely speaking properly with the occasional coo breaking through.

Not paying attention to my surroundings, I he isn't notice that we had taken a different route. I had taken the time to look up and pay attention to where we were when we rolled into the driveway of a nice two story house.

"Where are we? Don't I have my therapist appointment?"

"Ms. Martinez has a surprise for you, come along dearie," Ollie said motioning wildly as she climbed out of the car and began excited walking towards the front door.

As groggy as I was it took longer than normal to walk all the way to the door, but when I had arrived and the door swung open I was shocked. Ms. Martinez stood there next to a man and a twelve year old girl with a giant banner that read, "welcome home Maximum!" In the background.

Ms. Martinez reached out and hugged me.

"We couldn't actually adopt you but we made an agreement that you can live here with us, we can be your new family for as long as you want." She whispered in my ear

I froze momentarily, a family?

Hell yes.

**Three days before hand **

Ms. Martinez POV

"I think she could really use this," I argued.

"Honey, I think she needs to stay where she is." My husband David replied monotonously.

"You're just saying that because she is slightly mentally disturbed!" I yelled.

"Well you did say she thought she was experimented on and lived in a cage." He added dryly.

"That's just her mind making up stories to cope with reality and her friends she lived with were in her head- its all very normal. Now that that's over she shouldn't have anymore relapses. Maximum needs another family, one that will show her that families aren't bad and her delusions will stop."

"What if she really was an experiment and could easily kill us all because she's unstable." He asked.

"Don't be ridiculous the only people who would try that we're killed 15 years ago and nothing has popped up since."

"The organization was still there,"

"And all they had were ideas. Maximum just needs a family to reduce her delusions and reroute her thoughts of family!"

David sighed exasperatedly, we had been arguing for days, "One week, and if I say she goes, she goes. We have Ella to look out for."

"You'll love her!" I grabbed him around the neck and pulled him in for a kiss ignoring the sarcastic 'yeah, yeah' he mumbled under his breath.

Did you like it? I hope you do!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello! This chapter is just a filler from Max as a 14 year old to her as a 17 year old. The next chapter the things will pick up plot wise. Also, Max is more bird like in this fanfiction because being two percent bird wouldn't give her full-fledged wings, so I made her 10 percent bird and so she has more birdlike qualities. Nothing major. Just a few tweaks that's makes her a lot more badass because I like badass heroines.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's canon in the Maximum Ride series.

Chapter 3

The first night was awkward, Ella wouldn't stop staring at me like I was either a.) her new play doll or b.) an invader in her home. Ms. Martinez's husband or David as I was told to call him, offered a friendly persona with hard interrogative questions; understandably, I was a mutant freak- but he didn't know that.

After a week I had decided what my favorite port of living with Ms. Martinez was: a shit ton o food whenever I wanted it and having no one tell me when I have to sleep. I hadn't felt better that I currently did ever.

3 weeks in me and Ella were acting like best friends and sisters despite the nearly two year age gap. We were so close that Ella wanted me to start going to school at her middles school/ high school. Eventually Ms. Martinez gave in; but, only if I was a part time online student and didn't have to go to campus frequently. Along with those guidelines I also had to take five tests in a variety of subjects I was trained to learn years ago thus learning the meaning behind Ella's words, "boring torture".

And it was from a week today that I got my results back from one hyped up business woman. It started with her pounding furiously on the door.

I heard it from all the way up in my room on the complete opposite end of the house upstairs. Then again I did have advanced hearing, nevertheless I scurried downstairs (even though it was close to two in the morning for me) and answered the door to find a woman with long vibrant red hair that matched her personality. Upon seeing me she stretched her smile even further making me question if I was the only mutant in the room.

"Are you the Maximum?!" She exclaimed. I nodded slowly still groggy from just waking up.

"It is just an honor to meet you!" She gushed, "I'm Laura Jones."

She held her hand out and naturally I stared at it with a confused expression until she lowered it slowly due to the awkwardness. Thankfully Ms. Martinez arrived at that moment.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Ms. Martinez intervened.

"Laura Jones. I'm here because of Maximums test scores." She exclaimed.

"Oh I'm sorry they weren't all that good; I got really bored and just rushed through them, I thought it was fairly easy material." I mentioned feeling an alien feeling of heat rising to my cheeks.

"Bad?! Ha! You're a genius Maximum! After you finished the first mixed test scores- in record timing- we gave you the hardest tests for math and science we have, and you finished under thirty minutes, scoring one hundred each! And the strategic plans based off ancient military leaders you wrote about for English, they want to send them into the army! You're IQ must be through the roof!" She kept rambling on, but I didn't notice.

A burning anger started inside me, this was just another result of those damned scientists. Why didn't I realize all those years of math and science wasn't for our benefit, but theirs and must have been messed with! Without notice I fled to my room.

Ms. Martinez found me sitting on the floor next to a hole in the wall, dry wall scattered around me.

I looked up at her regretfully, "I'll fix the wall, I promise."

I hung my head back down and tried to stop the shuddering in my shoulders, and the disappointment. I would never be able to do something that was completely me, something that if I didn't grow up where I was would still be constant. I was ruined by them.

"Max, why didn't you tell us you were that advanced at math and science." Valencia asked.

"I didn't know, I thought I was average." I answered honestly.

"Did you do any math, or science, or study any history in your past?" She avoided the 'scientist' and 'experiment' and I knew it was because she thought that was just an excuse for poor upbringing, and was trying to get me to recall what was my 'true past'. Of course, she never told me that but her and David fought over it after I caught Ella from a twenty foot drop easily.

"Well. Yeah. They started me out really early and it was all very easy except for a series of equations that I worked on for nearly a month. Those were a bit of a challenge." I told her.

"What were those?' She asked.

I rattled off the equations with ease.

"You.. you solved those equations?" Valencia sounded extremely wary.

"Um yeah?" I paused, "Do you know them?"

"The answers to those equations were anonymously given to the cancer research facilities. They are the only reason we have any information on cancer, anything at all. Nobody could figure out who solved it or where it came from, or why it worked."

"Oh." Damn, they had used me, again.

"What's cancer?"

Turns out Laura Jones never left and had overheard our conversation, and spent the next week hounding me to come and let people research my brain, or to hold a convention where I would speak and explain how I managed it. I said a big fat 'NO' every time, but that never persuaded her. Eventually, Valencia thought I should hold a small convention with only the top ten scientists in the world, just to explain how I did things. No one would know who I was, they would have to sign confidentiality agreement, and never bother me again. That way it would be over and done with, and I would never be bothered again. But, before we got to that point I had to actually convince her it was me who solved it, by solving it again with her watching.

That night there was another argument, Valencia was still in denial of my upbringing, while David was a bit persuaded to believe at least a little bit of it. But it was pointless to ease drop on all their conversation, it always ended the same way, and I had to prepare for tomorrow. I was going to speak with them at the Arizona State University, there was going to be a total of thirteen people listening, and I was nervous. A first for me. Nevertheless, I slept easily through the night, beds were still new to me and I was out the moment I hit the mattress.

Valencia woke me up early in the morning, I had to be at ASU by ten, and it was a two hour drive. The entire way there I kept unfolding and refolding an extra sheet of metal I found in the garage. I was shifting nervously, making my feathers ruffle into uncomfortable positions, a dn and the pencil skirt Valencia wanted me to wear so I could look older than fourteen. Unfortunately, it was almost December and cold. Cold for me, freezing to most pople, therefore adding to the discomfort.

We arrived around nine and had a small brunch, emphasis on small. We made our way to the University and explored a little bit before meeting up with the lawyer Valencia hired.

"All of the contracts are signed and they have been informed that they are extremely lucky for this opportunity and only to speak when spoken too, and all the other rules you made." The lawyer paused, "What is this great opportunity?"

"None of your business." Valencia told him stonily before sending him off.

"Alright, do you want me or David to come in with you?" Valencia asked. I nodded 'non', but slightly wishing Ella had been allowed to come and could be with me.

"Alright you're on, good luck" She smiled at me.

I took a deep breath before I opened the door slowly, and stepped through.

As I was informed, thirteen people sat there with notebooks open, all looking extremely anxious. Once the door clicked shut all eyes shifted to me and the light chatter that had been there ceased.

I lifted my head with an air of fake confidence. A few of them looked like they were about to speak up, but I quick glare their way silenced them. Without invitation I walked to one of the many white boards, and picked up a marker.

"Alright, keep up because I'm not repeating myself." I said and began my lecture.

Four hours later I had fully walked through the entire equation, and had gone over specific parts that had been confusing. The scientists looked a bit confused, and run down, while I had grown more confident through the lecture.

"Alright, Any questions?" I sked with my hands on my hips.

"Yes, Miss…?" He prompted for my name. This particular scientist was one of the older people in the room, maybe the eldest.

"You don't need my name. Continue." I told him directly. Ignoring the chuckle I heard from a woman in her late forties.

"Oh, yes. How were you educated? Why haven't we heard of you before?" He asked, all the other scientists leaned in even more.

"Not necessary information. Next question." I glared, but continued to look around the small room with an unnecessarily high ceiling.

"I actually think it is necessary. How do we know you're credible?" One of the few woman in the room accused.

"I believe you signed a confidentiality agreement and can't asked these things." I snapped back.

"I believe we said we wouldn't tell anyone. Not that we wouldn't ask." She smiled.

"You could only ask relevant things." I murmured feeling panic wash over me.

"I believe knowing if this is valid work as relevant. So, who are you? Where did you learn this? If you're really this advanced, why haven't we heard of you before?" They all turned on me, demanding answers.

"Shut up!" I screeched trying for silence.

They quieted.

"I was an illegal experiment to see if they could alter the human mind to think more advanced. It was originally to see if we could improve our military. It worked, but if this is leaked anywhere, I will find you, and you _will_ question your entire existence. So, don't get any idea." I glowered at each of them, my shoulders raised and threatening, and my hands clutching the desk- accidently denting the desk.

They all nodded in sync.

As agreed, none of them had yet to try and contact me

It was Christmas Eve dinner. Almost a month after the scientist fiasco. It was also my two month anniversary of living with the Martinez's when it first happened.

We were all sitting around table eating turkey.

"Max, we have something to tell you." Valencia started while grabbing her husband's hand and smiling at him.

"After some discussion," David continued, "We have decided to formally adopt you!"

"Please, call us 'Mom' and 'Dad' from now on if you want." Valencia finished.

I looked up at them shocked, the piece of turkey that was between my lips fell.

"Adopt?" I asked.

"Isn't it great?! We get to be real sisters!" Ella exclaimed.

"Yes, thank you!" I paused, "Mom, Dad." They smiled lovingly at me.

And that's when I first felt it.

This overwhelming feeling of comfort. I felt all my secrets bubbling out and I felt an urge to tell them everything, to be completely honest, and so before I could stop myself I hurriedly told them,

"If me and a cheetah were to race I would win every time."

They all looked at me confused, and the feeling I had now labeled 'embarrassment' replaced the swelling emotion of warmth and comfort. I fled to my room.

Surprisingly, they all just kind of accepted it and never mentioned it again. But, I only knew that after I left my room nearly a full day later.

The next time that happened was my fifteenth birthday. Now, I didn't know my birthday. So Mom let me chose it just like how me and the other rebels named each other. So on April, 29 fifteen years after my birth, my new family maneuvered around the kitchen fluidly making a homemade batch of chocolate chip cookies. My favorite thing in the world- right before flying.

Dad had spilt flour all over the floor; unfortunately, Ella hadn't noticed and eagerly ran into the kitchen and slipped in the flour, covering her.

Immediately we all looked at her. The started laughing our asses off. Ella took a couple of seconds before she joined in giggling in the madness. Dad was laughing so hard he had started to lean over the counter to keep from falling down while Mom went for some towels, still laughing.

Ella looked at me and mouthed, "Who spilt the flour?"

I pointed at Dad.

"That's what I thought." She mouthed back before grabbing a large handful of flour.

'Hey, Dad." She said not being able to keep the smile out of her voice.

"Yeah." He said through his laughter while turning around.

The without pause Ella threw the flour and coated his entire head right as Mom walked back into the large kitchen.

The laughter doubled, and a full-fledged war broke out. Some time, sugar was thrown into the mix, then soapy water. After a half hour had gone by, the kitchen was a wreck, and the fun had died done.

"Oh, I'm sorry this got so out of control." I told Mom, and Dad, after all baking cookies was my idea.

"Oh no problem, I think it just added to the night. As long as you don't mind getting store bough cookies instead. We're out of the ingredients." Dad said.

"Oh, can we get a personalized birthday cake too!" Ella asked.

"What's a birthday without one?" Mom said.

"I love you guys." I told them.

"We love you so much Max." Dad said followed by Ella viciously nodding her head.

And it came back.

The feeling of complete and utter acceptance. The warmth and kind atmosphere caressing my abused soul. Once again my abilities, and secrets came to surface, guilt was there too. I wanted to tell them everything and,

"I have more advanced senses to most people and animals. If I wanted to I could pinpoint where satellites were in the sky, and hear the couple from a block over arguing over the amount of take- out they eat." The words fell out before I could stop them and just barely reigned myself in before running up to my room.

Mom, Ella, and Dad came into my room an hour later with a slice of birthday with a candle, and a plate of cookies.

I was lying face down on the floor.

"Max, sweetheart, Happy Birthday!" Mom said cheerfully.

I sat up and looked at them.

"Honey, we know your past, but its okay to tell us these things." Dad said.

"Yeah, there very interesting abilities." Mom added.

"You're just saying that because you don't believe they exist, and is just apretense to make up for years of abuse from my parental figures." I said sadly.

"I'm going to go out for a while." I said without looking at them.

Then without notice I flung open my balcony doors and jumped off of it.

I landed and looked up to see Valencia, David, and Ella looking down at me. I nodded at them and jogged towards the woods.

I returned by morning. They didn't mention it again, but our relationship was strained and Valencia and David still hadn't accepted it. Though in I think they were more persuaded to.

Ella on the other hand, was completely on my side. Believed in me without fault even if I never proved my claims to her, or anybody for that matter.

Eventually, things returned to normal. And it was the following Halloween when I felt- what I've now discovered is the feeling of being loved- struck again.

Halloween was completely new idea for me. People dressing up and going to strangers for candy? What the serious fuck were people thinking when they came up with this holiday.

Ella was adamant I go 'trick-or-treating' with her, and that we make our costumes from scratch. She even went as far to think of costumes for us.

"We should be faires!" Ella kept suggesting, "It would be so cool having wings! Come on, don't you want wings for a night?"

I actually thought it was a nice idea, not restraining my wings for a night, except faires had flittery see through sparkly wings, and I didn't.

"How about I'm an Angel? You can still be a fairy" I suggested, trying to ignore the brief pain that mentioning Angels brought.

"Yes! There's the spirit!" Ella said excitedly.

Later that day Mom had taken us dress shopping for a base for our costumes. We tried on dress after dress, making silly faces and poses in the mirror and laughing at some of the ridiculous things the store offered. Some of them looked more ridiculous than others because I couldn't take my jacket off.

At one point I found a dress that I adored, it had a dark violet color, with a light tawny brown outline in the middle with swirling turquoise in the strip. The dress had a sweet heart neckline, and a low back.

But, it was a bit big so Mom and Ella crowded in my dressing room to see if they could alter it. I couldn't help myself, it was so normal, so teenager-ish, the now familiar feeling popped up and I blurted out, "If there was a fight that pegged me against ten professional MMA fighters, there is a 90% chance I would win."

Both of them stopped what they were doing and looked at me surprised.

"Ug, lucky you're skinny and can still do that." Ella complained, while mom just looked a bit lost on how to feel so she continued the previous conversation on my dress.

The next time one of my abilities were revealed it was more on accident. It was Halloween night at midnight, I was in the altered dress, with my wings on display. Only there was cardboard on one side to give them 'stability'. The base of my wings were also covered with fabrics, and the feathers themselves were hair sprayed to make them look fake. The was also ribbon circling them and attached to the dress so they wouldn't 'fall off'.

We were driving home as a family. They were all talking about Fang, Ella's brother and Mom and Dads son. He's in college to be a lawyer so he never comes home for breaks and summer because he needs to study. Suddenly, the lights on the car flickered and died. Dad stopped the car immediately.

"Why'd we stop?" I asked confused not having realized the lights were gone with my night vision.

Everyone just looked at me a bit bizarrely, but Ella answered for me.

"The car lights went out."

"Oh." We sat in silence for a couple of seconds, "Let me drive." I told them.

"No! You only just got your permit, we need to call the tow company." Mom said like a true authoritative figure.

After calling the tow company, and there response of 'We'll be there in two hours' I was back to asking to drive.

"No, Max you can't see, it would be dangerous." Dad told me.

"You can't see, I can see fine. You know I'm a good driver." I pleaded.

They stood their ground. That is until it was two in the morning on a school night and we were still stranded.

"Max, can you really see in the dark?" Dad asked.

"Of course." I replied snarkily.

"Okay, then prove it." Dad pulled out a piece of paper and pen, "I am going to write a secret message on this paper and go stand 25 feet away from the car, when I come back, if you can tell me the contents of the message, you can drive."

Mom started to argue, but David shook his head no and got out of the car, only pausing to scribble a message on the receipt on the hood. Once he was around twenty-five feet out he turned around held up the receipt. I started laughing.

Once he got back in the car I said, "I can't do Italian accents very well, but 'butter squash nugget." I laughed a little more, "How did you think of that?"

Everyone looked a little shocked, but quickly moved on. Dad got out of the front seat and opened the door for me to sit in the drivers seat.

"Max, you should take off your wings before driving, they could be distracting." Mom said nervously. I would be nervous too if I were in her position. Surprising both The family and me, I replied quickly,

"The thing about my wings is that they're attached to my back. Quite possibly because I'm only 90% human."

And got in the car and drove off.

Like always, they never mentioned it again. I personally think its because they're in denial.

Over the course of the next two years, I graduated my online college at the ripe ole age of seventeen. A couple of the scientist that I lectured when I was fourteen were the graduation ceremony to congratulate me, after all it was because of my work that they had furthered the science fields. It was a simple undergrad degree. It was only now that I had decided to become a teacher for young kids. After all I never had a childhood thought it a good method to live vicariously through others.

It was also two years later when Fang expectantly came home, for the first time in four years.

I had woken up to screaming. Not screaming 'holy shit the house is currently _on fire'_ but more like slightly excited but angrier and bit surprised yelling. I knew at one Mom, and Dad were two of the three voices, but the third one-while familiar- couldn't be placed. I trotted down staris at five in the morning. Well, five at night for the rest of Arizona.

I trotted down to the source of the yelling. The living room. I walked in unannounced and froze immediately. Because standing in the middle of the living room yelling at Mom and Dad was Brownie, my fallen rebel.

Well, not _Brownie_ Brownie_, _but an older more masculine Brownie with a mess of black hair opposed to brown.

He finished his tirade, and looked over at me.

"Who the fuck is that?" He yelled.

"That is your sister Max. We told you about here before you stopped talking to us for two years." Das yelled at the stranger, but I had yet to move.

"Max, what's wrong, honey?" Mom asked.

Continuing to stare at the stranger I asked, "That's Fang right?" They nodded.

"Your other son, the one that you lost, it wasn't because of a miscarriage was it? You, mom, were kidnapped when you were pregnant and when he was born he was taken too, never found. Wasn't he?" I asked sharply.

"Y-yes, how did you know?" Mom asked worried.

"He was with me. His cage was next to mine. He was Brownie. He always protected us. He looked just like Fang, Except long floppy brown hair."

I felt like I was being ripped in two just looking at him, and just started crying, still frozen, just looking at him.

Mom, and Dad looked similar, crying and blubbering. They've heard me talk about Brownie over the years.

"One, one second." I told them and ran up to my room. I sifted through my closet looking for the clothes that I came here in. I found them stuffed in the back and forgotten. I shifted the jeans around until I found the back pockets. I reached in them and pulled out two crumpled and abused pictures taken from the type of camera that immediately ejects the pictures. They were pictures of me and Brownie. We were around six at the time and the scientists had started using chemical experiments and they weren't turning out was the first time we had really series injury, so the doctor came to visit. The doctor was always very nice and truly felt bad for us. When he fixed us up he always made it feel like more of a couple hours as a true kid. Well, this particular time he had to document our injuries, and he wanted to show us how he was going to do that and to show us that it would be harmless, so he told us to make a couple funny faces and he 'documented them' and gave us one each. They weren't pretty pictures, there were chemical burns up and down our face, neck and arms. Only patches of unaffected skin was there. Nonetheless, it was one of the best memories I had. I ran downstairs through my tears.

Slowly I handed them the pictures.

"That's me and Brownie." I told them, and explained how we came across the burns.

"Are you telling me, you and my brother were experiments, and you got him killed by having a rebellion? Fucking wacko. I'm gone!" Fang yelled and stomped away, the echoing of the door being slammed shut followed. No car engine started, so he must be walking.

An hour later, Mom and Dad had become slightly less hysterical and I had updated Ella on the events of the last hour or so.

It was nearing six thirty and the sun was starring to set.

"We need to go get him." I demanded, "It was my fault Brownie died, its not gonna be my fault if something happens to Fang too, we have to get him."

Dad nodded slowly, "We should." Mom added and less than five minutes later Dad was driving with my mom in the passenger seat, and Ella and me in the back seat.

We circled the town twice before Ella got the idea to try the road that went through the hills. Fang always loved it out there.

We had almost reached the top of the hill when we saw Fang. We stopped next to him. And Dad got out to speak with him. They started arguing, but I blocked it out focusing on the sunset, there was only a layer of sun peaking over the mountains in the distance making a dusty read light surround us. I felt the urge to shed the light jacket I was wearing that covered my wings andgo for a quick fly, but I felt that would be counter-productive.

Dad taped on the window and told Mom that she had to sit in the back because Fang wouldn't sit next to her. She nodded and sat where I previously sat, while I sat, squashed between Mom and Ella.

The vibes coming off Fang were so intense it was nearly palpable. Maybe that's why Dad didn't see the deer that ran across the road in time and swerved off the steep cliff.

Screams pierced through Fang's palpable angry vibes and snapped me into focus. With the agility of a mutant I flipped back and using the back of the chairs as a lever, I pushed myself through the back of the car and snapped my wings out. I hovered for merely a millisecond before dropping and catching the car. I grabbed them before they hit the ground.

I tugged, and strained my wings to pull us back up to the road. I looked down momentarily and caught my reflection in the unbroken part of the window. The setting sun light glinted off me and with my 16 foot wingspan stretched to its fullest, I looked pretty badass. I turned my attention to my family, to see if they were alright. They seemed fine. Shocked. But not hurt physically. Really really shocked. This was the second time they had ever seen my wings, and the first time I had ever proved any of the abilities I claimed to have. Out of them all Ella looked like a kid in a candy store, I even heard her whisper, 'I knew it' under her breath. That made me laugh mid flight making us drop a few feet. Whoops.

The entire rescue mission had been under twenty seconds, but once the car had touched down safely I collapsed in a heap. It had been years since I had to do anything that strenuous.

Mom, Dad and Ella had come rushing out to check on me.

"Oh my god, Max are you alright!" Ella yelled as she kneeled next to me.

I sighed and rolled over on my back, my wings stretched our behind me.

"I could really use a nap." I mumbled. Ella Laughed in relief.

"Is she alright?" Mom came next to Ella.

"Just fine, Mom" Ella answered for me.

Dad came up on my other side.

"Wow, Max, they're beautiful" Dad said. I smiled wearily at him. Fang came stumbling out of the car and came over to look at me.

"You're, you're actually a freak!" his voice was low and confused.

I sat up and glared at him, "Yeah, I am a freak, but this goddamn freak just saved your fucking life, so you should say thank you, before I fly over there and chuck you back over the cliff."

"Thank you?"

He mumbled before fainting.

FANG WILL NOT BE A DOUCHE THE REST OF THE STORY. Really its only this chapter, and he has a reason. And from now on the story will be told by Fangs pov every once in a while. Like the next chapter. Please leave a review if you like it or have any critiques.


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